The best PDF editors in October 2024

A woman uses one of the best PDF editors on a laptop
(Image credit: Kilito Chan via Getty Images)

The best PDF editors do more than allow you to edit text, images – they allow you to add notes, collaborate with clients and colleagues and create and sign online forms. So it's well worth considering one if you work with PDF documents, whether for contracts, proposals, presentations or reports. But where to start? To choose the best PDF editors, we've reviewed a range of the best-known tools and evaluated them based on how much flexibility they offer, how easy they are to use, the quality of results, any extra features and also value for money. 

The most famous PDF editors are, of course, Adobe's Acrobat products, and Acrobat Pro remains number one on our list. Available for Windows and Mac, its reliability, ease of use and range of features make it the best PDF editor available overall. However, if you're looking for a free PDF editor, or a PDF editor for iPhone, iPad, Android or Linux, then we've got you covered there as well. 

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

1. Adobe Acrobat Pro: £15.17/$14.99 per month

1. Adobe Acrobat Pro: £15.17/$14.99 per month
Download the best PDF editor right now and get a super-reliable solution for accurately reading and editing PDFs. You can try the seven-day free trial and then sign up with a single-app or All Apps subscription with Adobe Creative Cloud.

2. pdfFiller: Reader Offer: Get the 30-day free trial

2. pdfFiller: Reader Offer: Get the 30-day free trial
pdfFiller has been making a name for itself thanks to its ease of use, and feature-rich experience. You can drag and drop your PDF straight on to the website and start editing and sharing your documents. Smooth and hassle-free!  

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)

3. Xodo PDF Reader: Free for personal use

3. Xodo PDF Reader: Free for personal use
Xodo is a cross-platform PDF reader and annotator, and best of all, it's absolutely free to download. You can collaborate on documents and sign them. You'll have to pay for a licence if you want to use it for business or commercial use.

Tom May

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects. 

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